78 
THE INDIAN MUSEUM: 1814-1914. 
for us many specimens from the Arrakan and the Pegu 
Yomas—hill-ranges as little known zoologically as any in the 
country. 
These are of course mere instances, which space renders 
it impossible to multipljr. 
The Museum has acquired few zoological collections by 
purchase, but those obtained in this way include the first set 
of the late Dr. Francis Day’s collection of Indian fishes, and 
the whole of the late Mr. L. de Niceville’s collection of 
butterflies. 
The officers of the Museum have always considered 
field-work an important part of their duties. The late 
Dr. John Anderson’s work as a field-naturalist has already 
been noticed. Shortly before leaving India he undertook 
on his own account an expedition to the Mergui Archipelago, 
the zoological results of which were fully described in 
two special volumes of the Journal of the Linnean Society 
(vols. XXI and XXII, 1888-89). The valuable collec¬ 
tions he made were sent to the Indian Museum, but unfor¬ 
tunately, in the confusion that occurred at the time of 
his departure, a certain proportion of them were lost. The 
specimens that remain are among the most valuable series 
of a littoral and insular fauna that we possess. 
At an even earlier date the late Mr. Wood-Mason, then 
Deputy Superintendent, who had taken a very prominent 
part in the foundation of the biological work of the ‘ Inves¬ 
tigator’, had commenced a survey of the Indian marine and 
freshwater Crustacea, which has borne no less valuable and 
perhaps more lasting fruit. His energies were not confined 
to the zeal with which he persuaded friends and correspon¬ 
dents in all parts of the Indian Empire, and even so far 
beyond its frontiers as Hongkong and Mauritius, to contri¬ 
bute specimens of crabs, prawns and stomatopod Crustacea; 
for he made the fullest possible use of the little opportunity 
he had for field-work, not only as regards the groups (Crus¬ 
tacea and insects) in which he took a special interest, but 
also in respect to many others. On one occasion he acted 
as Surgeon-Naturalist for some months, and 1873 he accom- 
